See You in Richmond in November

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                             Vol. III, No. 5, August 1990

Conservatives in Virginia have allowed ourselves to be taken for granted and ignored too long. We have fussed and fumed but attempted little and accomplished less. It is time to make our voices heard, and the only way we can do that is for each of our churches to send its maximum number of messengers to Richmond for the state convention Tuesday and Wednesday, 13-14 November.

Last year the conservative nominee for state president received 294 votes. This year our goal is 1,000 votes. We do not expect to win with 1,000 votes, but it would certainly be a great encouragement to other conservatives, such encouragement that in future years we could look for even more conservative votes. We are not in this spiritual warfare just for the short haul; rather we look ahead one, two, five, ten, twenty years. We seek God's victory in His own time. We hope sooner, but we will never rest, never waver, never tire until His victory is complete.

There is no question but God will bring about in Virginia the same wonderful changes He has wrought in the SBC at large. We just don't yet know when or how. But we don't have to know. We are not called to be omniscient or even victors; we are called to be faithful. Faithful to our local church, faithful to the SBC, and faithful to our state convention. In each case we must do our best to seek God's will and to be active. Insofar as the state goes, being active means attending the state convention, every minute of it. State officers are elected Wednesday afternoon, so come Tuesday morning and remain through adjournment Wednesday afternoon. Pastors, we may not break until 5:30 p.m. or even later, so let someone else handle prayer meeting if necessary. God has important work for you in Richmond that day.

Bring your maximum number of messengers. Put the call for messenger volunteers in the church newsletter and announce it from the pulpit. You may get one or two that way. But the best way to enlist messengers, the only way to reach your maximum is by a personal approach. Speak to one or two strong conservative members at a time, explain the importance, and ask them to come. Don't delay; people need time to arrange their schedules and get used to the idea of going.

The BGAV Convention in Richmond November 13-14 promises to be one of the most significant in a long time. Moderates and liberals made a maximum effort to win in New Orleans only to suffer a crushing defeat. Conservatives won every vote by majorities ranging from 56% to 63% (with the one rather minor exception of the attempt to replace Lee Porter, but there was a lot of confusion about that vote among conservatives and many of them voted for Porter).

Moderates and liberals have now lost twelve years in a row and their discouragement and frustration is proportionate both to this string of defeats and to the great political effort and several million dollars they reportedly expended prior to New Orleans. Unwilling to accept the will of the majority now that they are no longer in the driver's seat, they are openly casting about for alternatives acceptable to themselves.

One of their first initiatives was a 12-13 July Dallas meeting of leaders from Baptists Committed, the Southern Baptist Alliance, and the leading liberal newspaper, SBC Today. The Dallas group called for a 23-25 August meeting in Atlanta to which it will offer four proposals: (1) [Note: Here part of the text was not printed. The rest of this paragraph is excerpted from the decisions of the moderate-liberal Dallas meeting. TCP] ... church, faithful to the SBC, and faithful to our state convention. In each case, we must do our best to seek God's will and to be active through an Atlanta bank; (2) a budget for the division of funds received; (3) a new fellowship to lead the new organization; and (4) an elected executive committee to plan a national meeting next spring to plan beyond 1991 and recommend structures, budgets, and programs.

A second effort is underway right here in Virginia focussing on a new giving pattern. It may be that the Virginia plan will serve as a model for like efforts in other states. The state budget committee draft proposes (1) to continue the $660,000 allocation to the SBC Annuity/Protection Plan as a priority item (the $660,000 is not subject to the percentage division between the state and SBC, which has the effect of reducing the money going to the SBC; this "priority" status was initiated at the November 1989 BGAV convention, previously the Annuity/Protection funds had been part of the state's 62%), (2) of all money collected above the $660,000, 64.5% will be allocated to support causes in Virginia and 35.5% to causes outside Virginia. Note that the latter does not mean 35.5% goes to the SBC. The SBC would receive half of that percentage plus $1,611,950 designated to the Foreign Mission Board, $620,000 to the Home Mission Board, and $25,000 to the Annuity Board. In sum, if the full $16,300,000 planning figure (the same as this year) is received, the SBC would be given only 30.88%. Many conservative Virginians have thought for a number of years that even the 62%-38% contributed far too little to the SBC.

Non-SBC causes outside Virginia would include the Baptist World Alliance $100,000; a "theological education reserve" fund (money being set aside to start a new, liberal seminary) $100,000; Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs $75,000; Associated Baptist Press, an alternative press agency designed to compete with Baptist Press and created because Al Shackleford and Dan Martin were dismissed from Baptist Press, $60,000; and a general contingency fund $50,000.

Conservatives will want to oppose this "penalize the SBC" track, and we should.

Nevertheless it is highly probable that it will pass. As a fallback, we should recommend a third track, a conservative option. After all, if there is to be a special choice designed by moderates to suit moderate preferences, in all fairness should there not be a conservative choice designed by conservatives to suit conservative preferences?

And don't forget the election of state officers. We will be voting on a president and two vice-presidents. Each one is critically important because appointments are made by majority vote of the three. Whichever side elects two of the three officers can control the appointments. Therefore, be sure to stay until all voting is over and the meeting is adjourned.

In summary, the BGAV convention on 13-14 November is extremely important. The state's budget proposal launches an attack on the Cooperative Program. Conservative views in Virginia have been ignored for years, and it is at least partly our own fault because we don't participate as we should. Let's start turning that around this November. Come to Richmond 13-14 November, bring all your authorized messengers, stay the course, and let Virginia know we are here.

See you in Richmond in November.